My Top Rated Martial Arts Movies
by aktarus777 | created - 01 Mar 2013 | updated - 01 Mar 2013 | PublicThis is the list of my top rated martial arts movies, i.e. the MA movies I've rated 7 or more stars. Enjoy!
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1. The Prodigal Son (1981)
R | 100 min | Action, Comedy
A young man discovers that his reputation as a fearsome martial artist is manufactured by his rich father, after meeting a real martial arts master, who's also a master thespian, and is determined to apprentice under him to learn kung fu.
Director: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung | Stars: Biao Yuen, Ching-Ying Lam, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Frankie Chan
Votes: 3,535
2. Once Upon a Time in China III (1992)
R | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
Master Wong and his disciples enroll in the 'Dancing Lion Competition' to stop an assassination plot and to battle an arrogant, deceitful opponent.
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Siu Chung Mok, Xin Xin Xiong
Votes: 7,670 | Gross: $3.56M
3. Sanjuro (1962)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûnosuke Itô
Votes: 41,102
4. Dragons Forever (1988)
TV-14 | 102 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
Three successful Hong Kong lawyers are hired by a chemical company of questionable ethics and must eventually make a difficult decision when their employer's motives become clear.
Directors: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Corey Yuen | Stars: Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Biao Yuen, Pauline Yeung
Votes: 9,339
5. Once Upon a Time in China II (1992)
R | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
Arriving by train in Guangzhou, 1895, the trio fight off White Lotus followers, who want to kill all foreigners and the cute, European dressed 13th Aunt. It's not kung fu master Dr. Wong's (Jet Li) last fight.
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Siu Chung Mok, David Chiang
Votes: 10,633
6. Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
R | 134 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Legendary martial arts hero Wong Fei-Hung fights against foreign forces' plundering of China. When Aunt Yee arrives back from America, Wong Fei-Hung assumes the role of her protector.
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Biao Yuen, Jacky Cheung
Votes: 19,887
7. Azumi (2003)
Not Rated | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Raised to deal in cold blooded death, the teenage assassin girl Azumi must defeat three evil warlords while also battling her own heart.
Director: Ryûhei Kitamura | Stars: Aya Ueto, Kenji Kohashi, Hiroki Narimiya, Takatoshi Kaneko
Votes: 15,158
8. Tai Chi Master (1993)
R | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
Two friends, ex Shaolin monks, part ways as they brush with the ongoing rebellion against the government. The ambitious one rises up to be a powerful military commander, while his betrayed friend resorts to learn the calm ways of Tai Chi.
Director: Woo-Ping Yuen | Stars: Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Siu-Ho Chin, Fennie Yuen
Votes: 10,837
9. Yojimbo (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa
Votes: 131,302
10. Drunken Master II (1994)
R | 102 min | Action, Comedy
A young martial artist is caught between respecting his pacifist father's wishes or stopping a group of disrespectful foreigners from stealing precious artifacts.
Directors: Chia-Liang Liu, Jackie Chan | Stars: Jackie Chan, Ho-Sung Pak, Lung Ti, Anita Mui
Votes: 48,908 | Gross: $11.55M
11. The Way of the Dragon (1972)
R | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A man visits his relatives at their restaurant in Italy and has to help them defend against brutal gangsters harassing them.
Director: Bruce Lee | Stars: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nora Miao, Ping-Ou Wei
Votes: 41,017 | Gross: $4.06M
12. The Big Boss (1971)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man sworn to an oath of non-violence works with his cousins in an ice factory where they mysteriously begin to disappear.
Directors: Wei Lo, Chia-Hsiang Wu | Stars: Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien, Marilyn Bautista
Votes: 29,454 | Gross: $0.04M
13. Fist of Fury (1972)
R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A young man seeks vengence for the death of his teacher.
Director: Wei Lo | Stars: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien, Maria Yi
Votes: 33,868 | Gross: $1.29M
14. Fist of Legend (1994)
R | 103 min | Action, Drama
In 1937, a Chinese martial artist returns to Shanghai to find his teacher dead and his school harassed by the Japanese.
Director: Gordon Chan | Stars: Jet Li, Shinobu Nakayama, Siu-Ho Chin, Billy Chow
Votes: 24,914
15. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen
Votes: 1,193,216 | Gross: $70.10M
16. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
R | 137 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
The Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah
Votes: 805,076 | Gross: $66.21M
17. Enter the Dragon (1973)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.
Director: Robert Clouse | Stars: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri
Votes: 112,955 | Gross: $25.00M
18. Hero (2002)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 187,611 | Gross: $53.71M
19. Drunken Master (1978)
PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Comedy
Wong Fei-Hung is a mischievous yet righteous young man, but after a series of incidents his frustrated father has him disciplined by a master of drunken martial arts.
Director: Woo-Ping Yuen | Stars: Jackie Chan, Siu-Tin Yuen, Jeong-lee Hwang, Dean Shek
Votes: 43,831
20. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 281,565 | Gross: $128.08M
21. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Dandan Song
Votes: 116,247 | Gross: $11.05M
22. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,678 | Gross: $0.27M
23. Ip Man (2008)
R | 106 min | Action, Biography, Drama
During the Japanese invasion of China, a wealthy martial artist is forced to leave his home when his city is occupied. With little means of providing for themselves, Ip Man and the remaining members of the city must find a way to survive.
Director: Wilson Yip | Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan, Ka-Tung Lam
Votes: 233,540
24. Iron Monkey (1993)
PG-13 | 85 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A martial artist/doctor steals from the corrupt authorities as a masked thief to give to the poor while another martial artist/doctor is forced to hunt him down. But a major threat unites them as a powerful and traitorous shaolin monk takes over the authorities.
Director: Woo-Ping Yuen | Stars: Rongguang Yu, Donnie Yen, Jean Wang, Sze-Man Tsang
Votes: 17,217 | Gross: $14.68M
25. Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003)
R | 105 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.
Director: Prachya Pinkaew | Stars: Tony Jaa, Phetthai Vongkumlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol, Suchao Pongwilai
Votes: 78,160 | Gross: $4.56M
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